Lecture Outline - Elections

Terms
- Poll Tax
- Majority Voting System
- Proportional Representation
- Gerrymandering
- Electoral College
- Australian Ballot
- Initiative
- Political Action Committee
- Issue Advocacy
- Open Primary



Purpose of elections
- connection
- public policy
- control

Direct vs Indirect Elections

The US Constitutional System
- autonomous branches

The Texas Constitutional System
- Jacksonianism

Types of Elections
- primary
- general
- presidential
- congressional
- state
- local

Criteria for Winning
- winner take all
- super majority, majority, plurality
- proportional representation

Regulating the Process
- The Electorate
-- Suffrage
---gradial expansion
---attempts to restrict (white primary, literacy tests etc...)
- drawing districts
- apportionment

Voter Turnout
- Aggregate measures
-- why the recent reduction?
- Individual voting
-- why do people vote? Is votign rational?
-- how do voters decide?

Campaigns
- The Professional Campaign

Candidate Support v. Issue Advocacy

Finance
- Donors
- Hard v Soft Money
- Constitutional Issues
-- Equality v Liberty

Early Elections

Critical Elections
- 1800
- 1828
- 1860
- 1896
- 1932
- 1968

Recent Elections
- 1980
- 1992
- 2000
- 2004
- 2006